


Baby Nat and Us

by LemonTreeBears



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: ABDL, Adult baby, Age Play, Avengers - Freeform, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Baby natasha, Breastfeeding, Cuddles, Daddy Tony, Diapers, Family Reunion, Home, Hugs, Love, Mama Pepper, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pampering, Papa Steve, Protective Avengers, Tony is a great dad, We're a family, bottles, diaper changes, raped, unity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-02 22:29:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11518809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonTreeBears/pseuds/LemonTreeBears
Summary: Despite the way things left off after the whole world had access to the avengers' (especially Natasha's) ledger, they stuck together and the war never broke out. Until one day, when Phil received a package in his office that contained a video under the label 'detained - de-aged - my favourite hostage', the whole tower was flipped up-side down. Natasha was sent on the usual extract, rescue, and demolish mission, but this mission will be one the avengers never imagined.





	1. Lost Little Duckie

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there :) 
> 
> I thought I'd try a different track and go with something Nat center-ed. Hope you like it!

"That sick bastard! WHAT THE FUCK DOES HE WANT! I'M GONNA RIP HIS FUCKING BODY TO PIECES BLOODY SHRED HIM APART SICK BASTARD! J.A.R.V.I.S. GET ME A SUIT WE'RE LEAVING!" Tony was furious and as he shouted into the now stone-cold, hollow living room he kicked the coffee table meters away, leaving the glass-top brittle on the floor. 

Steve, the captain calm as always placed a firm reassuring hand on Tony's shoulder and said "That won't be necessary J.A.R.V.I.S.. We'll find her Tony, but first we must all keep calm and devise a plan that can be put into action as soon as possible. Agent Coulson, can you get Fury on the phone and try to get hold of Thor, we'll neen everyone we can on this. Hawkeye, you and doctor Banner need to return to S.H.I.E.L.D. and meet tup with Hill to gather information on Romanov's last locations and see if you can track down the communal places that have live security feedbacks and recordings. Tony, you and I will pack the required weapons and devise an attack, search and rescue plan with agent Coulson. Everyone alright with that? Anyone have anything else to say before we break? Alright team, time is of the essence. Let's break!"

-

Phil let out a sigh as he pushed through the doors to his office. He slouched and let out a 'oooof' as he sunk into his chair, but immediately sat back up straight when he noticed a blood red package on his table labeled 'detained - de-aged - my favourite hostage'. Phil ripped through the packaging and turned on the table to find a video on pause. Phil was a man who has seen and literally been through death, nothing much phased him, but what he was about to see... Let's just say he was phased. The video played and it began with the screen pitch black. It heightened when a voice narrated the situation of the scene that was played before him. Agent Natalia "Natasha" Alianovna Romanova, one of the best of the bests was now propped up on an old wooden chair with zip-ties restraining her to the handles and legs of the chair. The man steadied the camera to a stand and began to zoom-in on the shivering, whimpering latter. He walked over to run his hand through her hair and to assault her in ways the 'normal' Black Widow would have already broken his arm before he could do so, but no! The women in the video was no longer the cold-blooded, emotionless, killer everyone feared. Phil pushed through to watch the masked man strip Natasha completely and rape her with content, even through her cries and screams for help. Phil's blood boiled but just before the video ended he heard Nat shout "FATHER PLEASE NO MORE! I BEG OF YOU PLEASE! I WILL COMPLY!" Phil's worried now carried a hint of curiosity as to what sick treatment his agent was put through. "She was a tough one to work with Coulson, she's not easy to break, but I did it. You see, the trick is with this precious one of yours was to take her back to the red room and to desensitise her. Not only has she been desensitised, but in the process, she's been de-aged too. Now she will comply to the best of her abilities. Don't try to send a team for her rescue, you'll all rot in hell before you get to her. She's now mine!" The feed cut just as he thought he was able to catch a glimpse of his reflection.

After all that, he immediately sent out the alarm for the avengers and had J.A.R.V.I.S. show the team the footage and once the plan was devised, Clint had returned with Bruce and Hill with the last known location of Nat. They mapped out the spot of where they registered her last from a street security camera and used the time-frame of the original mission to assume the distance traveled. The tracking beacon on Nat was destroyed 3 hours after the last know location, to which Phil assumed was where she was hidden and examined, therefore they all paired up and started at 4 separate angels of the circumference to work their way in. 

As the search continued to reach the 4th hour mark, Thor showed up with news from Heimdall and Thor had landed in the woods at Bruce's location underneath Tony who was up in the skies. Thor passed the exact location to Tony who picked Banner up from underground and flew straight to the location and the rest of the team followed. 

Hulk smashed the brick wall down along with the puny door and Tony flew straight through to be in Natasha's line of sight. He flipped the face mask off to get a better look over his teammate and was left in shock and speechless. He cut the ties off her arms and leg and bent down to her eye level. "Uh... Tash?" He leaned in closer to tip her chin up from where it rested on her chest. "Hey, it's alright, we're here now, let's get you out of here and back to medic alright?" Tony reached a hand out for her to accept but gave her time to react.

Instead of taking the offered hand, she picked up her feet and pulled her knees up to her chin and turned away from from Tony. "Ugly Duckie" She said ever so quietly. 

"Huh?" Was all Tony could say. 

"Ugly Duckie" she repeated once more as tears began to roll down her cheeks and before anything else could happen, Tony heard a steady but soft gush of water running, and it wasn't until he noticed the darkening area by Nat's thighs that he realised what had happened. 

"It's alright sweetheart, it's no big deal, we'll get you cleaned up and you'll be good as new. I just need you to take my hand and I'll take you home. Can you do that for me?" Tony needed her to 'authorise' him to pick her up and fly her out to the medic jet that was waiting outside the building, but it's hard enough just getting him to take his hand. Tony was having a tough time understanding Tash, because in truth, no one understood Tash, so something as simple as two words from Natasha's mouth was harder to decipher than any Sherlock Holmes case. "I'm almost there Stark!" Phil suddenly shouted over the comms and Tony sighed a breath of relief. 

Phil panted as he turned the corner and into the scene, his blood was racing through his veins at this point, given that he's just broken the sick bastard's nose and completely splintered his larynx, Phil was winded, but he composed himself at the side and walked closer to Natasha as calmly as possible with Tony backing up to the corner with the Hulk. He knelt on one foot facing her straight on and tried to take his time to convince her to exit the soiled area. "Hey there Tash, it's me Phil, can you look at me please. I promise I won't hurt you, but can you tell me why you're afraid to leave this chair?" Phil's approach seemed to have a soothing effect on the now body-slightly-relaxing statue on the chair. 

"Ugly Duckie" She said once more. 

"Hmmm..." Phil thought to himself for a moment. "Ugly Duckie? You mean the Ugly Duckling?"

Phil finally got through to her as he was responded with a quick nod of the head. "What about it sweetheart?" 

"Lost. Duckie lost but duckie famly no want him cos he d-d-Dfrent. duckie sad, lost and bad then get pun-ished and then catchted by bad man and said duckie d-erved it. It not room is red, he tell duckie com-comply and gets present but no presents but he hurts and duckie not lost no more but duckie hurt more and duckie now no one wanted no more even no one wanted duckie to have home and saves because duckie bad. It lost no more mama and papa and famly and lost no swan. Swan hurts." She sobbed through her explanation and despite obvious signs of dehydration managed to wet herself a second time. 

"Tasha, can you listen to Mr. Phil for a minute please. I know you're such a brave girl and you were very brave for telling me about duckie. I appreciate that very much. And I want you to know that I'm here to help you and take to home. there are no more hurts and punishments, just cuddles and warm snuggles. But we really need to get out f here so we can get cleaned up and then we can go home. Can you do that for me? You're being very brave. Thank you for being such a brave girl Tash. Would I be able to have Uncle Tony here carry you, the floor is icky and I don't want you to get hurt without shoes on. Great! By the way, I know your best friend Mishka the bunny is at home waiting for you, she told me that she misses your hugs a lot." And with a soft swoop, Tony carried her out of the nasty building and into the medic jet and took off for the tower.


	2. Night before Examination

By the time the flight landed onto of the tower, Nat was acquainted and comfortable with everyone on the team. She even let Steve carry her into the living room. Phil grabbed a towel from the bathroom and laid it on the tile floor in the dining room for Steve to lower Nat onto. "Okay, we need to get her cleaned up before anything. Steve you and I will get her cleaned up while everyone else gets cleaned off and we'll meet up here in an hour."

"Okay. I'll give Pepper a call, she's usually good at these caring loving stuff. I mean, look at me, I turned out perfect!" Tony said before leaving for his floor, trying to lighten the mood seeing how tense Phil and Steve suddenly became.

Once everyone left Phil wanted to check on Clint. "Steve, can you first give Clint a call to see where is he and if that asshole is down at the Fridge yet?" Phil tensed and looked down at the girl by his legs, who from this point of view looks so adorable, you'd never pin her as an assassin or a women of trouble. Of corse, that was until she decided to shout ASS'OL and giggle about the new word she just learnt. 

"ASS'OL!" She giggled again. 

"Don't copy that. That's not for little girls to say Natasha." Phil raised an eyebrow at her, but with no luck as she continued to giggle around the word ASS. 

"I guess the de-aging part really sunk in her. Gotta be careful what you say around kids sir. They pick up on things really quickly, especially on things they're not supposed to. Isn't that right little one?" Steve said and chuckled as he bent down to pick her and the towel up to rest her on his hips. 

"Yea... Hill's sending the psych and physio examiner over tomorrow morning, so hopefully we'll be able to get a better grasp on her state and treat her accordingly. For now, we'll just assume she's... 3? 4? Come on, let's get you into a bath and into some nice comfy jammies, little stinker" Phil leaned over to tickle her ribs softly. The two men and the now yawning baby assassin was making their way up to Nat's floor to find suitable clothing, but it turns out the black widow only owned clothing suitable for explosion-killing-bloodfilled missions and what was labeled nightgowns were somewhat too seductive for a 4 year old. In the end, they ended up on Steve's floor and dressing her in one of his old and extremely worn-out t-shirts. The shirt was so large that the hem passed her knee by inches and the collar drooped to the side. But all was well, and the men both called it a win when Natasha never put up a fight to get into the tub because by the time they had made it up to Steve's floor, she was practically asleep and unconscious. Hence the challenge of a regular bath routine became the simplest of tasks. Phil had filled the tub just above her waist line and used a cloth to wipe her down efficiently and swiftly, while Steve kept her up-right and preventing her from slipping. 

"I don't think that's a good idea Phil" Steve spoke out of concern 

"We don't have any other choices now do we. All of her underpants are inappropriate Steve. We can't put those on her, not when she's like this." 

"Fine... Commando it is" 

So that's how they left her. In a t-shirt and a t-shirt only. 

Steve and Phil took the remaining 8 minutes to take a military shower and headed back down to the communal floor's living room. 

Everyone was already there and about to begin the meeting when Clint entered just in time. "Where is she!? She is alright? Is she okay!? How badly is she hurt!" He panicked. 

Phil swayed over to Clint to greet and calm him with a hug. "She's fine. Everything's alright. She's not hurt. She's sleeping in Steve's room. She fell asleep before we could even give her a bath. Relax babe, go get yourself cleaned up and check on her and then come join us." Phil reassured Clint and sent him off to his room then turned back to the rest of the team. "Tony, any news from Pepper? Great. Maybe when she get's here she can help us better prepare ourselves for what's to come. Oh and Tony, would you please ask her to get some cotton underwear for Nat, we're gonna need those. Bruce, got any thoughts? Advice?"

"I can't say that I'm certain or familiar with the effects of the treatment they put Nat through, but I'm quite certain about the de-aging factor. I know for a fact that it'll be tough to pull her out form that mindset and headspace. Have any of you ever heard of the kink or term Age play? Not even you Tony? Really? Okay, I'm just wondering. You know, play boy and genius and all. Anyway, Age play in the kink community is where in the often couple dynamic there's a baby, the Adult baby, and the care-giver. A mommy or daddy. There's a switching factor but that doesn't come into play for us. The care-giver is the one who has a maternal/paternal instinct that needs to be fulfilled by caring for one who acts like the child. When the little, or the baby is in that role, it's called a headspace, and from what I can tell, Nat is pretty much in that situation, except because of the brainwash, she's stuck and we don't know how to un-do it. And we don't know hat her triggers are, so we  
ll have to be very careful about what we say around her. She''s acting like a toddler now, but it can range from younger to older. But then again, by the looks of it, she's tipping more on the younger side, so it should be pretty easy to care for. Her needs should be simple and straight forward, but we can discuss that when Pepper arrives. And we won't know the extent of the damage that the rape incident has impacted her and we won't know till tomorrow after we get the results back from the examiner. For now, she's stuck in headspace. I'd say 3 years old. All there is to do now is to care for her like we would any other child, but if I may say Coulson, I don't think I feel too comfortable being around her for lengthy periods of time. But I'll be happy to do some research and try to find a way to reverse the affect." 

"So she can't control it? What do you mean? What did that hell-hole escaping, life sucking, sick minded bastard do!I... I'm... Does she know or will she remember anything? I mean now, or from before or... um... How can we help her?" Clint's tremors rising to the surface even more. Phil scooched to the side of the armchair and pulled Clint close to his side. 

Bruce answered "I won't know for certain until tomorrow. I'll be sitting in observation room monitoring Nat during the whole examination process. We'll be able to know how much she remembers and to what extent the damage is. And by damage I don't mean brain damage, I just mean that it simply is because the brain has now been rewired to believe in false truths, she may need time to come back to her senses and to remember her real past and acknowledge the present. She will remember everything that we do form now on. every word and every interaction. Again, we can't start any treatment or give her medication for something we don't understand. If she's calm and restful, then it's best we keep it that way. Right now, I think it's best we do a bit of reading on parenting and try to stick to the basics as much as possible. Less context, more sounds." 

"Thank you Bruce, I think we all need to take some time to process this and maybe just take it one step at a time. It'll be best for us all to take the night off and have some time to ourselves. Clint why don't you go and get Tash and take her to our floor, I'll meet you there in a while." Phil waited for Clint to leave before thanking Bruce once more for his patience and to apologise on Clint's behalf for his impulsive behaviour. Phil praised Steve and thanked him too with gratitude for his calm and adaptable care. Then bid him goodnight. That left Tony and Phil, the two waiting for the arrival of Pepper. Within the half hour, she walked through the elevator doors and greeted both men by shaking them both gently to wake them from their nap. 

"Hey boys, did a little girl tire you out?" 

"Very funny Pep" Tony rolled his eyes at Pepper. 

"Miss. Potts, boy am I glad to see you. I..." Just then Clint entered the scene with a wailing Nat in his arms. 

"She wouldn't stop crying Phil! She's been like this for the past 20 minutes I couldn't get her to stop! Help me!" Clint seemed frantic and immediately when he noticed Pepper turned from where he faced Phil to walk towards Pepper and to lower the child onto the rocking one-man sofa infant of her. HELP Clint mouthed as he looked up at Pepper. 

"Guess my shift just started" Pepper couldn't help but chuckle when the thought of 5 superheroes not being able to care for one crying child. She took a step closer to her friend and leaned down to pick her up slightly and slip her over her lap when she took a seat between the cushioning. She used her leg to rhythmically rock the seat and began to hum and lullaby. As she hummed through the lullaby once, the second time she began to sing quietly by Nat's ears.  
'Song from Dumbo  
Baby mine, don't you cry  
Baby mine, dry your eyes  
Rest your head close to my heart  
Never to part, baby of mine'

Just like that, the sobbing stopped. All three men had their jaws wide open in awe. Something so simple and the three of them couldn't figure it out. "How did you do that!? I tried singing but it just made her cry worse..." Clint gasped and still in awe. 

Tony took that as a chance to shoot in a comment about Clint's singing making even an onion cry got shot down by Pepper. "Tony, that's not how we speak to our friends now is it? Is it? That's right, now apologise to Clint. Thank you." 

"She'll always be able to do things we can't do. Even with all the other guy's mind and ours combined we couldn't beat Pepper at any single given task. It's her god given gift." Phil chirped in. 

"That's right boys. And now you know who's the big boss calling the shots around here. Alright little one, let's get you into bed. But first, we need to get you cleaned up. Clint, can you take her up to my floor please, and Phil, may I have a word with you? Good. Come up in 20 minutes and we can talk." Clint, Nat, and Pepper left with J.A.R.V.I.S.. taking them up to Pepper's floor. 

"How does she do it all. That's a real superwomen I tell you Tony." Phil said when he gave Tony a pat on the back. 

"How did she do that! I mean, she literally just got pissed on and she kept on signing like it was nothing." Tony exclaimed. 

"That's Pepper Potts for you Tony. She's even kept you in line for this long. There's nothing she can't do. Good night Tony" Phil laughed and waved him goodbye, asking J.A.R.V.I.S. to take him to Clint's floor.


	3. The Morning Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The medical assessment team Fury sent to evaluate Natasha was coming this afternoon, so the team tries to help Nat start her morning slowly. but not everything goes as planned.

Pepper ran her fingers through Nat's soft, red, curly strands out of her eyes and then rubbed small circles on the child's tummy to begin waking her. "Natasha, time to wake up sweetie. Everyones waiting for us to start breakfast. Come on honey, lets get ready." Nat slowly blinked her eyes open to see a radiant smile hovering over her. Nat opened her eyes fully and let out a kitten-sized yawn, smiled back at Pepper, then closed them again. Pepper chuckled at the adorable site, and knew she wouldn't want to start the day off with tears, so instead of trying to wake the girl, she went to get help from Steve. Steve helped pick Natasha up onto his hip to ease the changing process for Pepper. Pepper quickly and efficiently switched out her night gown for a worn-out t-shirt of Tony's. she didn't bother with pants, because it was just too much of a hassle. Once dressed, Pepper and Steve(still carrying Nat) made their way down to the dining room. Pepper automatically took the empty seat beside Tony and Steve at the end of the table with Nat on his lap, beside Pepper. 

"So, hows our little assassin doing today?" Tony asked absentmindedly. "Ow! what was that for!" He barked when he received an elbow to the ribs from Pepper. 

"Stop that, she can hear you. We don't want to surround her with those thoughts. She's a good girl. Innocent. But she was doing well the whole night. Slept through the night without anymore accidents and nightmares." Pepper answered.

"Well we better wake her up and get some food into her before Fury's med team gets here. We don't need a hungry crying meltdown baby on our hands." Phil spoke up coming out of the kitchen with a plastic cup filled with warm milk. He passed the cup to Steve. "Here, this should help her. I added honey and cinnamon to soothe her anxiety. I read it helps." Steve smiled back with a nod to Phil. 

Steve pulled the girl into a more firm sitting position and tried to wake the girl by calling her name. When that didn't work Pepper stepped in to show them how it was done. Steve helped place Nat onto Pepper's lap with her head leaning on her guardian's chest. Pepper softly gave her back a few pats and rubbed rhythmic circles. "Let's wake up now sweetheart, I know your tired, but can you open your eyes for me." And of corse, slowly but surely did she raise her eye lids and blink her long lashes. "There we are, I can see your beautiful eyes. Good job Tash." Pepper praised and raised for the plastic cup of milk to Nat's lip. "Can you drink some milk for me sweetie? It'll help you feel warm and make your tummy feel better. I can hear it grumbling." Pepper cooed and encouraged and finally praised the child in her arms continuously as she took small sips of the milk until she finished the last drip. "Well done Tash! You did a very good job in drinking your milk. Now, what about we try some breakfast. Uncle Phil made us all pancakes, eggs, and sausages." 

Nat suddenly let out a squeal and giggled. "Smiley! I want!" All the adults looked puzzled and even Pepper wondered what that was all about, until she saw the child point at Tony and made grabby hands towards him. 

"Hmmmm. I see. Someone wants smiley face pancakes. I think we can do that. Why don't you go ask Tony-Mr.-Mature-Man to make some with you. I'm sure he'd love to." Pepper winked and laughed as she watched Tony's jaw drop and mouth 'awww why me'. She held Nat's hand and walked her over to Tony at the opposite end of the table. 

"She's all yours. Hey, no arguing, That's what you get for playing with your food Tony." Pepper laughed along with the other 'adult's' and went back to finish her own breakfast once she helped Nat settle into her seat by Tony.

But not long after Nat has chopped down on 3 pancakes, 2 sausages and half a bowl of eggs, Pepper noticed squirming in the corner of her eye. and years of babysitting Tony Stark and babysitting her nieces and nephew, she was, you could say, an expert on squirming. Pepper stood from her seat and walked over to place a hand on the now non-stop giggling Nat's shoulder and bent down to whisper in her ear. "Do you need to go potty Tash?" The girl tilted her head to look up and then shook her head hard "No no no no I play. I don't need potty!" She argued.

"Are you sure?" Pepper raised an eyebrow. "How about we go to the bathroom and try, if you really don't then you can go play at the park with Tony. Deal?" Pepper put on her stern but loving face, when making a deal with the young one. When she agreed, she took Pepper's hand as she was guided into the bathroom. "Can you go by yourself, or would you like some help?" 

"No! I a big girl! I go! I doit myselfs" Nat quickly said. 

"Okay big girl, I'll wait for you outside then. you take your time." Pepper closed the door behind her. 

After a few minutes, Pepper knocked on the door when she heard silence. "Tash, sweetie, are you alright in there?" There was no response. "Can I come in?" Silence. "Okay. I'm going to com in now." Pepper turned the knob and entered the bathroom. The moment she stepped in, her normal straight-face became a sad smile. Nat was stood dead in the spot Peppe left her, sobbing, and her underpants drenched and the whole area darkened. Pepper quickly closed the door behind her and disregarding her own clothing pulled the girl into a tight hug. "Oh sweetheart, it's okay. I'm sure it was just an accident. Next time we'll just have to make sure we go to the potty more frequently. It's alright." Pepper smoothed her thumb over the sobbing girls cheeks to wipe her tears away. "How about a nice warm bath to clean up. I think I have some bubble bath liquid left in my room. Would you like that?" Pepper could tell the child was embarrassed by the way she kept on staring at the floor and her feet, while twitching the hem of the over-sized t-shirt. So she waited for her to respond with a nod. Pepper grabbed the towel on the rack and wrapped it over Nat's shoulders to allow it to hang below her knees to cover the traces. "Alright honey, let's go up to my floor and we'll run you a bath." 

"Ba-ba-baabbles?" 

"Yea, we'll have lots of bubbles. We'll have so much that you can make a santa beard." Pepper let out a small laugh to lighten up the mood. She then held the child close to her side and walked her to the elevator and had J.A.R.V.I.S. take them to her floor and draw a bath for the child.

Meanwhile downstairs...  
"Where'd they go? Weren't they just in the bathroom like 2 seconds ago?" Tony wondered. 

"I think I saw them go upstairs. Not sure what happened." Phil got up from his seat and walked towards the bathroom. "I think Nat's wet herself again so Pepper's brought her upstairs to get cleaned off. The puddles still here." Phil sighed. "We need to bring up this wetting problem later." 

"There's a lot of problems we need to bring up. Like the fact that she peed on Pepper last night! and she babbles and I don't understand a word she says!" Clint began to get worked up and sped up his speech. "What is even going on! What if they cant fix her. What if they don't know whats happened or they don't have a cure or they cant reverse the drugs effects! What if...!

Phil pulled Clint close and embraced him tightly and gave his back a few light pats. "Hey, it's going to be okay. Just take a few deep breaths. We'll figure this out together. Right now, we need to focus on helping Tash feel comfortable and help her feel safe around us, so we can help her. She needs familiar faces around, and panicking will only scare her off. There's no point in 'what ifs' now. We need to face the fact that Tash is de-aged. And whatever that means and intells, we need to face it and treat Tash the way we need to. Not to think of anything else, but how to give the best car to Tash for now." Just as Phil finished his sentence, Pepper strolled in with a skipping Tash. She was now radiant, smiling and giggling, skipping her way to Phil. 

"Unca Phil! Look! I got a bear! It Mishka! I wuv him! He's mine! Mama said so! He soft!" Natasha held the bear in both hands and shoved it straight in front of Phil's face, waiting for him to pet the bear. Which he did and complimented it on it's soft brown fur. "That's very nice of you to introduce Mishka to me. Why don't you introduce Mishka to everyone else. I'm sure they'd love to meet your new friend." Phil smiled and gave her shoulder a light nudge towards Steve who was sat at the long family-style sofa. Tony's jaw dropped and he turned to Clint and mouthed 'mama?' Clint only shrugged. 

Phil got up from his seat and walked over to Pepper, who was in the bathroom cleaning up the soiled flooring. Phil leaned down to grab the towel to help." Here, you take a seat and let me help you. You've done so much in caring for her and you've done such a great job. We wouldn't have made it through that night without you Pepper. Seriously!" Pepper sighed with a relieved and relaxing smile. "Thanks Phil. And it's nothing, really. Nat's my best friend, I'd do anything to help her. It's just that her needs now are different, and that's okay. It's easier than caring for Tony" She laughed loudly. 

"So..." Phil cleared his throat but never looked up once. "Mama? How did that come about?" Phil said as he avoided eye contact with Pepper. 

"Well, as you know, she wet her pants. Which on a side note, must be brought up with the med team. I think Nat might be younger than we thought, and she'll be needing diapers. Anyway. I brought her up to my floor for a bath and she cried at first when I left her to get a new shirt and sweats, and I thought she'd be alright, but after a minute she shouted mama out of no where. I thought she was just mumbling something, but when she saw me and looked me in the eye and called me mama, I knew it was intended for me. So I just went with it. We all know how her past was, and maybe this is another chance for her. I don't know Phil, but I just want her to feel happy for now. Thats all." Pepper's voice crooked for a moment as she tried to hold back her tears. 

Phil finally looked up from the tile he has been scrubbing for the while time they were speaking. "I understand. I know you want what's best for her and so do we all. which is why I'm hoping Fury's med team can give us a clear assessment on Nat's state so we can find the care we need for her. Don't worry. It'll all turn out fine. We're here together now. As a team. As a family. That's all we need." 

At this moment, J.A.R.V.I.S. announced that Fury's medical team is being sent up from the lobby.


	4. We a family?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Besides the result of the health examination, Little Tasha gets more than just a good result.

*DING* The elevator door opens, as J.A.R.V.I.S. announces the arrival of the medical team. Pepper was already seated back at the dining table with Nat by her side colouring in one of the many colouring pages J.A.R.V.I.S. had printed out for her. The rest of the team were slowly making their way to the table too. The adults all greeted the medical staff as the rest of the team took their seats at the table. 

Phil was last to the table, so when he got there he was surprised by who caught his eye. "Jemma! Fitz! What are you two doing here. Aren't you supposed to be at the H.U.B. with May?"

Jemma turned to face Coulson and replied. "Why hello Sir. agent May is back at the H.U.B. with Skye, where I think Skye said they're taking this time to bond. Though I'm quite sure May has the intensions. Anyway, Director Fury requested Fitz and I bring our own med team as a familiar face never hurts. We should get started. Where should we set up?" Jemma smiled widely. 

Phil wasn't sure what to say. He never expected to see Fitzsimmons as the examiner of this situation. Simmons, maybe, but Fitz? anyway, Phil just shook his head as to snap himself back into reality and pointed to the dining table where Nat was now sprawled across complaining of her boredom. 

"You sure about these two? They look like kids. What kind of teams are Fury putting together these days!" Tony blurted out without an ounce of filter. 

"They are more than qualified Tony, I assure you. I've worked with Jemma and Leopold and I can promise you they are the best of the best. Am I not correct Agent Coulson?" Steve interjected before Phil could answer Tony. 

"Uh...huh? Yes. Yea. Fitzsimmons are a part of my S.H.I.E.L.D. team. They're the best of the best and they've proven that on countless occasions." Phil nodded at Steve. 

Everyone seemed to be a bit on edge this morning. Filled with anxiety, anticipation and worry of not knowing what the results would be like. But Jemma came in time to cut off all worrisome thoughts and asked for Nat to be prepared for the examination. "If possible Sir, we'd like to clear the room of a few people to make the process easier." Jemma didn't need to say much more and Clint offered to leave and go train. Clint knew inside that he didn't have the stomach for any bd results, but watching the process would make his more furious, so he chose to leave. Tony followed, by disappearing to his workshop. Steve excused himself too, saying he'd just head back to his room. So then there was 3. Phil, Pepper and Tash. "May we begin?" Jemma asked, looking at both Phil and Pepper. "Yes, you may." Phil answered. 

Jemma had Fitz and the medical team set up the required equipment for the testings and then sent the team off. Once Fitz showed everyone out, he brought a small bag over to Jemma. "Alright, can we get her to hop on the table please. We'll check her physical state before we move on to other aspects." Pepper arched her back slightly to be on the same level as Natasha and softly eased her to hop onto the table. Pepper then helped her remove her shirt and readied her for the stethoscope. Pepper was focused on helping the child make this process as easily and comfortable as possible, but why oh why did her phone have to sign at this moment. It was Happy who called to pass on an emergency stock drop board meeting message, to which Pepper couldn't get out of, so she had no choice but to leave the child. Pepper took the time where Jemma was explaining to Nat how the stethoscope worked to pull Phil aside and share the trouble with him. He simply nodded and told her to leave right away and as quietly as possible. Phil then whispered his request to get J.A.R.V.I.S. to send Steve up for assistance. Steve arrived at the common floor and all went well. Fitzsimmons had taken Natasha's blood pressure, temperature, pulse etc. The usual body check routine. Fitz was then put in charge of giving the psychological mentality test while Jemma took notes for further assessment. Even then Natasha never once noticed the absence of her mama. You could say it was going suspiciously too well. But there it was! The storm emerged as Nat saw Jemma prepare a needle at the corner of the room.

"No! NO SHOTS!" Natasha screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to speak through her sobbing. 

At this very moment, Pepper walked through the doors and frowned. But before she could ask any questions, the child squirmed out of Steve's lap and leaped into Pepper's arms. Pepper held her arms out just in time and took a step back to prevent herself from falling. "Noah there sweetheart. What's going on? What's gotten you so upset?" 

Nat refused to speak and simply cried in her mama's arm. Eventually, Nat ended up under the table when Steve tried to pry the girl out of Pepper's arms.

Pepper sighed. "Sweetheart, can you tell mama why you're scared of the needle?" Pepper crouched down under the table and slid in beside her child. 

Natasha hesistated for a while, but then slowly raised her head to look her mama in the eyes to say "I got shots then I will forget. No more people and I got shots 'fore and I sleeps and family no more and no more everything and I go shots bad guy make me hurt. I no want shots! It make all gone!" Once she managed to get al her words out, the girl broke down into tears again.

Pepper used the pad of her thumb to wipe the tears away from under her child's eyes and spoke as softly and loving as possible. "Honey, Tash, can you look at mommy please? I know that it seems scary and I can't promise you it won't hurt, because it will, but only a little bit. I know you feel scared because of what had happened to you before, but I want you to know that nothing will happen to you. Jemma and Fitz aren't going to give you a shot. They just need to take some of your blood to make sure you're healthy and the bad man didn't hurt you inside." Pepper paused to pull the child close to her chest, settled between her thighs. "Sweetheart, it saddens me very much overtime I think of your past, and we both know that it must have really left you scared. But its different now. You have me. Do you like staying here?" Nat dipped her head ever so slightly. "Do you like me being your mama?" Pepper expected another nod, but instead Nat replied more complicatedly. Her lips trembled but she pushed through the tremors and said "I do! But I know you won't like me and no wants me no more when I bad. I always bad and I always gets give away and I gone and no more forever family. Becos I bad. I bad I cry and you pun'ish me I know when I gets better. No one will wuvs me because I not d-d-d'erving of its." The child let her tears stream down her face again, but this time around, her mama was there to help her soothe the pain. 

"Oh sweetie, that would never happen. I promise! Never! I would never choose to leave you, and I will do all I can in my power to keep you safe in my embrace. I would never give you away, or leave you, or ignore you. And you're not bad, You could never be bad. We all make bad choices, but that doesn't make us bad people. Do you understand that? And you DO have a family. I may not be experienced or qualified, but if you'll have me, I'd love to care for you and be your mama. It'll be my honour." Pepper leaned down to kiss Nat on the top of her head. "And don't forget, you have so many uncles to protect you from harm. Uncle Tony, and Steve, Clint, Phil, and even Thor. We're your family,and we will never, ever leave you."

"We a family? I gots one?" Pepper smiled down and nodded at the child who, with her big brown round eyes looked up at her mama. 

"You can count on me, like 1, 2, 3, I'll be there..." The two under the table suddenly heard a familiar voice singing. Ah... it was Tony. Tony? Pepper wondered how she didn't hear him enter the scene. But the moment she saw him peek under the table she laughed at what Nat shouted. "Mr.MATURE MAN!" Everyone surrounding the table laughed. 

Pepper felt relieved that Nat took to Tony so quickly since this morning that when Nat made grabby hands towards Tony, she verbally prompted him to carry her out from under the table. 

The relief sensation continued as Nat began to yawn and was doing a terrible job of hiding it in Tony's chest, so Pepper quickly nudged Jemma and Fitz to finished up the examination. Then, by the time Jemma had gotten Nat to name items on the flash cards, she was dozing off in Tony's arms. Pepper helped guide Tony with the sleep-limp body in his arms, towards the rocking chair, so he could create a rhythmic motion to send her into a deeper sleep. Pepper walked back to the dining table to discuss the results with the team while Tony softly hummed lullabies to Nat and once he heard her angelic snoring, he kissed her forehead and pulled her in closer. "Sweet dreams little bunny.Don't fear,for I promise I'll Jericho who ever dares to make you cry."

**Author's Note:**

> Please do let me know what you thought about it, and/or if there's somethings I could improve with my writing.  
> Thanks for reading :)


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